Re: BOT #17:01 - Designation of Position Title from CEO to Administrator

Aloha Trustees,

I am here to testify in support of Trustee Rowena Akana and the need for a forensic audit of OHA. I am here to oppose the current contract for the OHA CEO, Kamana’o Crabbe.

For several years the OHA Board has ignored the provisions of Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 10 which set out Hawaii laws governing OHA, its functions, duties and operations. Section 10:10 Sets out the process for the Trustees to designate an ‘Administrator’, not a CEO.

“[§10:10] Administrator; appointment, tenure, removal. The board by a majority vote, shall appoint an administrator who shall serve without regard to the provisions of chapter 76 for a term to be determined by the board. The board, by a two:thirds vote of all members to which it is entitled, may remove the administrator for cause at any time. [L 1979, c 196, pt of §2; am L 2000, c 253, §150]”

OHA does not have an ‘Administrator’ and has not had one for years. The contract of the last CEO expired months ago, and at the last BOT meeting to discuss this, the Trustees offer to renew the contract was rejected by the CEO who rejected their offer and Countered with a 5 year contract at higher salary, benefits etc. The OHA BOT did not vote to accept his terms.

NO CONTRACT WAS VOTED ON BY THE BOT AS REQUIRED BY CHAPTER 10:10.

One week before the election, BOB LINDSEY signed a 3-year contract renewal with Crabbe. Only OHA Board attorney Bob Klein was aware of this. No meeting was posted on the public agenda and the Trustees were not informed or included in the meeting by the Chair of the Board (Bob Lindsey) the OHA Board attorney (Robert Klein) and the OHA CEO, (Kamana’o Crabbe). Beneficiaries were not given the chance to submit comments. It was conducted in secrecy and implemented in a manner that lacked transparency.

This was a violation of the legal requirement in HRS 10:10 that the Administrator be hired by a majority of the board. In addition, the new contract drafted by Klein established a compensation package that was a clear violation of HRS 10:11 in that it provided Crabbe with a huge salary ($150,000.00) in addition to a Discretionary Allowance ($150,000.00), unlimited international, national and State travel and other Executive “perks” that are substantially out of line with the current salary and benefit package provided by the State to Agency Administrators under HRS 10:11. The contract secretly executed by Klein, Crabbe and Bob Lindsey was not a legal & binding contract.

I am requesting that the new OHA BOT rescind the contract that was executed by Bob Lindsey and implement the law set out in Chapter 10:10.

The Trustees need to post an RFP for the position of ADMINISTRATOR of OHA. The salary for the position should be set as required in HRS 10:11. The Board should create a process for an Ad Hoc Committee of the BOT to review all applications, and bring their recommendations & assessments to the full BOT for a public vote. Beneficiaries should be given the opportunity to testify on the hiring. This process should be completed in 30-45 days.

1. I am also opposed to any retention of Crabbe for other reasons: There has been no detailed or complete fiscal line item accounting of our peoples trust assets since Crabbe was hired. During Crabbe’s reign, the budget has ballooned from $26 million to $53 million, but beneficiary programs & services have remained at under $9 million per year.

2. Under Crabbe’s oversight OHA has failed to follow the State OIP law (Sunshine), State Procurement laws and State Ethics laws. This resulted in litigation forcing the release of financial records and incurring hundreds of thousands of dollars for legal costs. The Judicial Watch case forced OHA to make public thousands of checks issued by OHA (2,000) and the assessment of these checks proves that many were issued without RFP’s to persons & corporations with connections to Bob Lindsey, Crabbe and the old majority.

3. Crabbe gave the IUCN conference a $500,000.00 gift of trust funds on so he could be the Master of Ceremonies of a gala Hollywood style opening ceremony at the IUCN Conference in Honolulu. He brought in, at the Trusts expense, dozens of his friends to dance, chant and pose for the media. These expenditures did not benefit our Hawaiian Peoples and were a flagrant Breach of Trust. OHA Trustees did not approve these expenditures until after Crabbe made he commitment and thereafter, on the advice of Klein, voted to support it to avoid possible litigation!

4. Crabbe has used OHA trust funds to finance several international trips for himself & Trustees including Bob Lindsey for pleasure & vacationing including a trip taken by 20+ staff and friends to attend the Hokulea Welcome Party in New Zealand. Crabbe said he had been invited to give a talk at a University but this did not explain why over 20 people flew to NZ with a 3-piece band and a $5,000.00 “Gift”. Later, Crabbe & Lindsey & staffers flew to the Cook Islands to celebrate the 50th birthday party of Independence. These and several other trips did not relate to beneficiary needs.

5. Crabbe approved transfer of over 4 million trust dollars to Kanaiolowalu for “Nation-building” without following State procurement laws. When the Judicial Watch won, OHA was forced to release their check register and could show only $2.9 million in invoices. There was no record where the rest of the money went. Crabbe has refused to provide any accounting of the $2.7 million allocated to Na’i Aupuni.

6. Crabbe ensured the Gentry refurbishing contract was given to a company employing his secretary’s (Mona) husband. Crabbe ignored the law in HRS 103:D which set forth the Sate process for such contracts and never declared any conflict of interest.

Over the past several years, OHA has not been in conformity with the State Sunshine Law, Procurement Laws and Ethics laws. No complete accounting of trust assets has been undertaken for over 10 years. In 2016 OHA’s Budget exceeded $53 million dollars with only $8-9 million going for Beneficiary services & programs. Beneficiaries have made repeated efforts to get OHA to address the critical needs of the Hawaiian people to no avail. It is apparent that we will need the assistance of federal investigatory bodies in the future.

Mililani B. Trask

OHA Beneficiary

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Tempers flare as OHA grapples with accusations of mismanagement

HNN: …In a dramatic moment Thursday, Native Hawaiian activist Bumpy Kanahele called for an investigation into OHA's finances, throwing a handful of salt onto the group's meeting table and suggesting the board invite federal authorities to examine its business its dealings.

"I no like nothing from you guys," Kanahele told the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' board of trustees. "I no owe you guys nothing, and I always did something for you folks. Please make that call. After you guys pau here, call the FBI."

Kanahele's plea came after several board members accused OHA chief executive Kamanao Crabbe of mismanaging the $600 million state agency. Those board members tried to remove him during Thursday's meeting, but fell several votes short.

"What I was suggesting is put him on administrative leave with full pay until we work out the details of his contract, to be fair to him, but they wouldn't have it," said OHA Chairwoman Rowena Akana.

Critics say OHA's administrative costs during Crabbe's tenure have more than doubled, to $50 million, while spending for Hawaiian programs hasn't kept pace.

"Your CEO has used thousands of dollars for international trips, staffers going to New Zealand for the Hokulea welcome party with a three-piece band," said Native Hawaiian activist Mililani Trask….

Tempers sometimes flared during Thursday's OHA board meeting, which was attended by more than 50 people. At one point, Trask got into a heated exchange with Crabbe after she accused him of spending $500,000 on the World Conservation Congress in Waikiki last September.

Trask: "Your CEO last year gave a gift of half a million dollars to the IUCN global environmental conference so that he and a few others could become a master of ceremonies for a Hollywood-like opening event."

SA: Chairwoman Rowena Akana emerged from a closed-door trustees’ meeting to say that her idea was tabled with only Keli‘i Akina, Carmen Hulu Lindsey and herself supporting paid leave….

A narrow board majority, led by Akana, voted Jan. 8 to enter negotiations to buy out Crabbe’s three-year, $150,000-a-year contract. But the ultimate fate of Crabbe is far from certain because six votes are needed to remove the chief executive officer.

Thursday’s closed session ended relatively quickly for the nine-member board after it lost its quorum….

Akana said the board minority refuses to budge even though she has obtained documentation of misconduct that implicates Crabbe.

She said the documents, some secretly passed to her by OHA employees, indicate Crabbe’s lieutenants hacked into the trustee server and published online some confidential legal documents and falsified records. One falsehood, she said, accuses her of using her trustee allowance to pay for Botox treatments.

Akana added that she might have to sue the trustees to stop the “malfeasance” and “corruption” they continue to allow at OHA….

Some spoke up for Crabbe, while others offered support for Akana. There were also accusations of corruption and mismanagement. Bumpy Kanahele and Mililani Trask said the FBI should be called.

Others endorsed the forensic audit Akana is proposing. Forensic audits could lead to criminal prosecution if anything illegal is uncovered….